Cuba Crisis relived - but without Cuba??

As this article reports Russia is threatening the West with deployment of Russian Bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons to Cuba.

Despite the fact that this could be just mere rhetoric by the Russians as suggested in any of these articles, the world is no longer 1962. Again, power dynamics make their play into the way we discuss this issue. And it seems as if Russia vs. the West is all up again, but how much are comments like this worth?

I suppose the Kreml's comments can be seen as hot air for a number of reasons. First Russia's interior rhetorical dynamics. Some thoughts to this have been made at the Duck and here. Second? I doubt the strategic advantage of bombers?? They are only faster deployed, but also faster shot down.

Thirdly and most importantly is the country that should be the staging and deployment point for those bombers. CUBA?? Somebody ever heard the name of this country? YES in 1962 it was the country where the missiles were supposed to be deployed.

Cuba was reluctantly lulled into the scheme in 1962 by the Soviets, by arguing for the weapons as a security guarantee against U.S. invasion. Cuba was at the down end of the discussions and found its own concerns sadly disappointed and not even heard in the discussions on withdrawal of the weapons. Metaphorically Fidel was "the Mouse" bleeping unheard from his little island, while the superpowers discussed their differences. I doubt his brother Raoul has any interest in following his brothers footsteps. Especially now that Cuba finally recovers from the damage done by the recession that began when the Soviets left Cuba in the 90's. The Cuban's won't be buying in on this scheme again, despite their problematic (to say the least) situation with the U.S..

For Cuba normalization ismore like the path to go than trying to play with the superpowers. Tourism (mainly with Canada and Germany) seems like the 'strategic' partnership that Cuba is seeking, not nuclear deterrence.


The question is why is nobody asking if Cuba is interested in a second October crisis (as the Cubans call it)?

Power dynamics?? Yeah I guess, as shown above. But maybe the reason that U.S. Americans have no clue about Cuba and tend to forget that the country moved past 1962 can also be found in the mere fact that the U.S. government upholds the embargo, keeping anybody with a U.S. passport from traveling those 90miles south of Florida and seeing the country with their own eyes.